Strike averted as nurses, hospitals reach agreements

Tentative agreements were reached early Friday morning with seven Twin Cities hospitals, avoiding a strike that would have begun at 5:30 a.m., the Minnesota Nurses Association

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announced.

Bargaining continued until 4:55 a.m., when negotiators on the Methodist Hospital contract reached agreement, the MNA said. The tentative pacts cover about 5,600 nurses at Abbott Northwestern, Fairview-Riverside and Phillips Eye Institute in Minneapolis, Fairview Southdale in Edina, Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, Mercy in Coon Rapids, and United in St. Paul. A vote is scheduled Saturday, the MNA said. No details of the proposals were released.

About 1,200 nurses at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics in St. Paul and Minneapolis are voting Friday on a tentative agreement reached Thursday. Late Thursday, the union announced that nurses at three HealthEast hospitals – St. John’s in Maplewood and St. Joseph’s and Bethesda Rehabilitation in St. Paul – ratified an agreement.

The union set a new strike deadline of 5:30 a.m. Sunday in the event any of the contracts are rejected.

Elected officials back nurses
Nurses gathered Thursday night for a last-minute rally prior to a possible strike. A large line-up of elected officials and labor leaders spoke in support of the nurses at the event at Aldrich hockey arena in St. Paul.

“I come here to thank you for taking care of our loved ones and I come here to thank you for taking care of Minnesotans,” U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone told the crowd. Many nurses brought spouses and family members and held up signs reading “I Believe Nurses – Safe Care Now.”

“You have the support of the public . . .” Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch told the nurses. “People want you to succeed.”

Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bernard Brommer and International Brotherhood of Teamsters Secretary-Treasurer Tom Keegel pledged the support of other union members if nurses are forced to strike. “We’re with you,” Brommer told them.

Sending a message
Television news crews, photographers and reporters swarmed the rally. Nurses interviewed afterwards said they believe their message is getting out. A number of news articles have followed nurses through workdays and overtime shifts.

“Maybe the public is really not aware, unless they’ve been a patient recently, exactly what it is like in a hospital setting,” said Therese Bilse-Kraft, an eight-year veteran employed at Abbott Northwestern.

David Olson, also a nurse at Abbott Northwestern, said the key issue in the negotiations is “not wages. It’s the control of nursing practices.” The high patient-to-staff ratio has created a dangerous situation for both patients and staff, he said.

For more information and updates on bargaining

Visit the MNA website: http://www.mnnurses.org

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